Minimizing bleeding of dorsal venous complex by artificial erection in a rat model.

Background: Bleeding due to dorsal venous complex (DVC) injury is generally regarded as the main cause of stress for the surgeon during radical retropubic prostatectomy (RRP) and radical cystoprostatectomy (RSP). Despite its significance, previous studies have not adequately explored preventive strategies for DVC bleeding. This study aimed to determine whether applying an artificial erection (AE) before transecting the DVC in a rat model could effectively reduce bleeding.

Methods: This study was conducted using 10 male Wistar albino rats, aged 16 weeks and weighed between 300 and 350 grams. These rats were randomly divided into two groups: one group underwent artificial erection (AE) before transecting the dorsal venous complex (DVC) (AE+, n = 5), while the other group did not (AE-, n = 5). At the end of the study, we compared the volume of aspirated blood around the transected DVC between the two groups.

Results: In the AE- group, an average of 4.28 mL of blood was aspirated (range: 3.8 mL to 4.7 mL), while in the AE+ group, an average of 1.54 mL of sero-hemorrhagic fluid was aspirated (range: 1.4 mL to 1.7 mL). The difference between the two groups was statistically significant (p = 0.009).

Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that DVC bleeding caused by DVC transection can be significantly reduced by inducing penile erection using the AE technique in rats. This study lays the groundwork for a novel approach to minimizing DVC bleeding and offers an original contribution to the field, enhancing the understanding and management of DVC bleeding.